ABOUT ME
I am an Associate Professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Bowling Green State University. My work focuses on people who are sexually marginalized, including people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, and LGBT people. I've published in the Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review, and AIDS Education and Prevention. My first book, Love, Sex, and Disability: The Pleasures of Care, was published in 2011 with Lynne Rienner Publishers. Currently I'm working on a second book about the gendered and sexual citizenship in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. I am also finishing a manuscript about the sexual representation of people with disabilities in popular film and TV.
I am also an accomplished teacher and mentor at BGSU. In 2015 I received the President's Advising Award for undergraduate advising and mentoring. I have developed over 10 unique courses at BGSU, including service-learning courses focused on social justice and community organizing.
EDUCATION
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Gendered and Sexual Citizenship
I'm currently investigating how scouting organizations teach citizenship, and how this broad concept is sexed and gendered in explicit and implicit ways.
2009
The Ohio State University
PhD Women's Studies
Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Disability Studies
Sexuality and Disability
My work in this area has largely focused on intimate relationships between nondisabled people and people with disabilities, looking specifically at care giving and intimacy.
Queer Family Structures
I am finishing a study that examined how extended family members (e.g., grandparents, siblings, etc.) impact lesbian parents and families.
2022
The Ohio State University
MA Women's Studies
2000
The Ohio State University
BA Women's Studies, Minor in Film Studies
BDSM Identities and Practices
I have written on 24/7 BDSM and how these relatively rare relationships explore gender.
Feminist Pedagogy
I am interested in critical feminist pedagogy at various educational levels, and am finishing up a study on the use of technology in large lecture classrooms.